Urban Lighting: a right under threat?

Within the next 2-3 years, Danish regions and municipalities have to replace outdoor lighting for up to €400 million. So parts of the city of Copenhagen will be used for a huge experiment in smart lighting that could save money, cut carbon emissions and alert police to suspicious activity.

Smart lighting using sensors that dim the light depending on the traffic is not a new idea. But according to this extremely interesting article ‘Right to Light’ by Bldgblog, street lighting should now also be added to the list of “smart targeting systems that make decisions in real-time as to which residents and neighborhoods have a right to light and who shall be punished by the induced darkness of an infrastructure that no longer wants to turn on for them.”